Washing machine



NOVQZG, 1929. H, C. HlRsCHY v 1,737,421

WASHING MACHINE Filed sept. 14) 1928 Arroz/vers* Patented Nov. 26, 1929 avanzi UNITED stares PATENT OFFICE HERMAN c. HIRSOHY, 'ONDUIUTR MINNESOTA, AssIeNor, To THE HIRsOHY com;- PANY, or NULUTN, MINNESOTA, a CORPORATION or' MINNESOTA wasnma MACHINE Application led September 14, 1928. Serial No. 305,947.

In the operation of the agitator of a clothes washing machine, there is a tendency of the clothes to collectparound the cone in the center of the tub, and when this occurs, the

clothes will be practically stationary, the a tation or movement thereof, being insucient to force the water through the meshes of the garments and wash awa the dirt. There is also a tendency in a mac ine of this 1o type, for a portion of the clothes in the tub to lie out near lthe Wall of the tub with comparatively little motion, the result being the clothes do not have the desired travel and the washing o eration is imperfectly or in` effectively per ormed.

The object therefore, of my present invention, is to provide an agitator for a washing machine whichwill not only tend to force the clothes outwardly away from the center of the tub, but will insure suiicient travel or motion of the clothes to eectually force the water through the meshes and prevent any part of the clothes from-stagnating between the fingers or blades of the agitator and the wall of the tub.

A further object is to lprovide an agitator having a depending member with fingers or blades formed thereon which contact with the clothes at two or more points' with substantially the same result that would follorvffrom depending the fingers of the hand .into the clothes and then arranging to have'the hand move back and forth and draw` the clothes forward and backward, a spacebei'ng provided between the fingers through which" the water may` flow and through the `fabric engaged by the fingers, the gap between the fingers allowing the water. to pass between them and flow through the meshes of the garment while the fingers on each side of the opening engage the garmentsandpull them back and forth as the disk supporting the fingers is reciprocated. v ,l y.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

lhe invention consists-generally'in various constructions and combinations, allg as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed 50 .out in the claims.

Vwhen the device'is in use, is close by afsuit- In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a tub and agitator embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the agitator;

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view showing the manner of mounting the agitator blade or hand upon the agitator disk; i

Figure 4 is a detailed sectional view showing the engagement of the hand or blade fingers with the clothes in the operation of the machine;

Figure 5 is a detailed view showing one of the hands or blades removed from the agitator; v t

Figure 6 is a similar view showing a-blade or hand with fingers of substantially the same length;

Figure 7 illustrates a blade with a series of three fingers thereon; and

Figure 8 is a detailed sectional view showing a blade or hand with three fingers in the 'act of pushing theclothes through the water as the agitator is reciprocated.

In the drawing, 2 represents a washing machine tub preferably of sheet metal. Any other suitable material, however, may be used in the construction o f the tub, and' it ma of course be of any suitable size. Prefera ly -itis of the form shown in the drawn vwith an upper portion 3 having inward y projecting walls overhanging vthe interior of the'tub and providing an openin 4 which,

able cover. not shown. Within the tub I provide an upright standard-5 secured `to the tub bottom by suitable means such as a lock nut 6 and any interiorly arranged flange not shown. A suitablestuffng box 7 is provided at the upper end of the standard, and a drive shaft 8 projects up through the standard and the stuiling box, and has an upper portion 9 rectangular substantially in cross section, at` the base of which I preferably provide a circular flange 10. The driving shaft may be/brought'down through the top of the tub if preferred. A cone 11 encircles'the lower portionl of the drive shaft and is seated on the bottom of the tub, this cone forming the 100 just itself vertically to subject matter of U. S. Patents #1,336,781 and #1,349,338. A block 12 has a socket 13 to receive the upper end of the drive shaft 'and shoulder 14 being formed in the walls of the socket to rest on the fiange 10 and support the block for oscillation with the drive shaft, this shaft having a reciprocating oscillating movement to impart the desired stroke of the agitator. 15 represents a disk preferably of metal and 16 is a dome thereon overhanging the central opening 17 of the disk. A box 18 is centrally mounted on the dome and depends therefrom with parallel side walls adapted to snugly fit the correspondingly shaped walls of the block 12 and allow the disk or .agitator to rise and fallin the operation of the machine and adthe lvolume of clothes beneath it in the tub. When there is'a considerable body of clothes. in the tub, the agitator will be raised, and on the other hand, if there is only a small quantity of clothes being washed, then the agitator will automaticallyl descend, accommodating itself to the volume of clothes beneath. A block 12 is preferably provided with a lifting finger piece 19 by means of which the agitator may be conveniently moved to place it in position in the tub or remove it therefrom. While the box 18 is free to rise and fall on the block 12 in the operation of the agitator, the walls will be at all times in contact with the block, and a rocking movement will be imparted to the agitator at all points in its vertical movement. Whenever desired, the agitator may be easily and quickly detached from the driving shaft by grasping the finger grip 19 and pulling upwardly thereon.

On the under side of the agitatorvdisk, I provide a series of seats or holders for the agitator blades or hands. There are preferably 4 of these holders extending radially on theagitator disk, but this number may be varied if desired, and preferably these holders are equally spaced apart on the disk, As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, each holder comprises a radial recess 20 open at its inner end and having a depending wall 21 at the outer end forming a stop against which the blade or hand is seated, and held by centrifical force when the agitator is in operation. Thus, as shown in Figure 1, when the agitatoris in position for use, the wall of the cone will prevent each blade or hand from becoming separated from its holder, but when the agitator disk is raised sufficiently to clear the cone, then either one of the blades or hands can be conveniently removed. On opposite sides of s each holder, I provide flanges 22 between whichfthe head or upper portion of the hand or blade 23 is inserted. This head or upper portion hasdownwardly converging side walls and when the hand is inserted between the flanges and they are pressed inwardly to the position shown in gap or opening 26 between them, both fingers being preferably inclined outwardly towards the wall of the tub with the fingers 25 depending belowT the finger 24, the lower portion of the finger 25 being outside preferably of the periphery of the agitator disk.

I have discovered in the' operation of a A washing machine, that the depending fingers of the agitator blade formed with a gap for' the passage of water between them, will engage the clothes at two points as indicated in Figure 4, and will move them back and forth through the water in much the same manner as the clothes would be moved if the operator placed his hand in the water and moved it back and forth with two of his fingers in engagement with the clothes, permitting the Water to flow freely between the fingers and through the meshes of the clothes that are stretched between the ngers. The gap between the depending fingers allows freedom of passage of the water, which, when the agitator blade is made solid, is retarded and must A be pushed aside by the moving force of the agitator. In agitators of this kind as usually made, there is a tendency of the clothes to collect around the cone and be practically stagnant and there is also an area near the wall of the tub where the clothes are practically stationary. This is due, I believe, to the imperfeet or retarded circulation of the water through the clothes and around the blades as the agitator is reciprocated, due to the form or shape of the blades.

With my improvement, the clothes are held at two points and the free passage of the water between these two points insures a much better circulation through vthe clothes an'd they clothes thereon, bending slightly as the agi- '13( tator encounters a mass of clothes, and then meneer returning to their normal position when the pressure is released.

In Figure 6, I have shown a slightly modified construction which consists in making the finger 24a substantially the same length' as the outer finger 25, leaving a gap betweenfthem pis described with reference tothe previous gure.

In Figures 7 and 8, I have shown two gaps, 26a and 26", thus dividing the hand into three depending fingers, 27,28 and 29. These fingers, as shown, are slightly narrower than those of the other views, but depend in substantially the same way and engage the clothes at three points instead of two, drawing them back and forth through the water and causing it to flow freely through the meshes of the clothes and through the gaps beween the fingers. These fingers also yield under pressure in substantially the same way as described with reference to the hand with two fingers.

I have found in operating this agitator with the handlike blades engaging the clothes at a plurality of points, in a manner similar to the separated fingers of the hand, that currents of water will flow-through the gaps between the points of contact with the clothes and establish a circulation in the tub through the meshes of the clothes and thoroughly and quickly cleanse the garments. The water, in-

pushed ahead of the clothes stead of bein y the oscillating blades, which and displaced is done when the blades are made solid and imperforate, will flow freely through the gaps between' the fingers, passing rapidly through the clothes which are stretched across the gaps and held by the fingers on each side.

The blades instead of having gaps separating them intol depending fingers, may have bpenings therethrough to allow freedom of passage of the water 'as the blades are oscillated. This arrangement will obtain the desired result to a certain degree, but I prefer to extend the openings or gaps through the lower edge of each blade so that independent clothes engaging fingers will be provided.

It will be understood from the foregoing that these blades or hands may be mounted in any suitable way on the under side of the agitator disk, there may be any suitable number of the blades arranged in any preferred distance apart, and while I prefer blades with two depending fingers formed substantially as shown in the drawing, I do not confine myself to this number, and though I prefer to use rubber in the manufacture of the blades or hands, any other suitable material may be employed and still be within the scope of my invention.

An important function of applicants invention is to prevent inward travel of the clothes during washingA operation and collection thereof around the core or center hub or operating shaft. This flmction is obtained partly by forming the fingers of compressible and resilient material, partly by spacing the fingers in a radial direction, partly by making the outermost fingers longer than the inner fingers and partly by slanting at least the outermost finger outwardly and downwardly.

I'claim as my invention:

k1. A washing machine 'agitator having pairs of depending fingers, those of the same pair being in substantially the same vertical plane, an opening being provided betweenthe fingers of each pair, the clothes being engaged by said fingers and stretched across said opening to force water through the clothes and said opening when said agitator is oscillated.

2. A washing machine agitator having handlike blades depending therefrom radially at intervals around a central axis, each of said blades having depending fingers with a gap between them, the outer finger of each blade being longer than the inner one and the remaining portion of the blade, said finger engaging the clothes during the oscillating movement of the agitator, the water Howing through the opening in said blade during such movement.

4. A washing machine agitator having an inner and an outer group of fingers depending therefrom, the clothes being engaged by said inner and outer fingers and moved throu the water as the agitator is operated, said fingers being adapted to yield under pressure of the clothes, and having a gap or opening between them for freedom of passage of the water.

5. A washing machineV agitator having on the under side thereof a series of radially arranged holders, blades having heads to fit 'within said holders and be supported thereby, each blade having its lower portion divided vertically lto form depending fingers between which the clothes are stretched and the water forced therethrough when said agitator is oscillated.-

6. A' washing machine agitator having a series of radially arranged holders on the under side thereof, flat blades composed of rubber having heads to fit within said holders v and supported thereby, each blade having a pair of depending lingers formed thereon withh a (gap between them, said fingers being adapte to engage the clothes at two points and move them through the water while stretched across the gap between said fingers, for the purpose speclfied. 4

7. A washing machine agitator having fingers of compressible resilient material deber,

pending therefrom, with gaps or openings between them, said fingers being adapted -to engage the clothes as said agitator is oscillate-d, the engagement of said fingers with the clothes stretching them across said gap and vcausing the water to flow rapidly through the meshes of the clothes as the agitator is oscillated.

8. A washing machine agitator having a plurality ofgroups of paddle-like fingers, the members of which are spaced radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the agitator, said fingers being composed of compressible and flexible material.

9. A washing machine agitator having a plurality of groups of paddle-like fingers, the members of which are spaced radially with respect tothe ais of rotation of the agitator, the broadest surfaces of said paddle-like fingers being faced in direction of rotation.

10. A washing machine agitator having a plurality of depending fingers of compressible and flexible vmaterial arranged in groups, the members of each group being spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the axis of-rotation of the agitator, said fingers being slanted 4outwardly and downwardly.

11. A washing machine agitator having a plurality of depending fingers of compressible and flexible material arranged in groups, the members of each group being spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the agitator, the outermost fingers being longer than the innermost.

l2. In a washing machine, a washing chamawasher shaft, a dolly connected for operation b said shaft, and having a plurality of depen ing fingers of compresslble and flexible material, arranged in groups, the members of each group being spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the shaft.

13. In a washing machine a washing chamber, a washer shaft, a dolly connected for operation by said shaft, and having a plurality of depending fingers of compressible and flexible material, arranged in groups, the members of each group beingv spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the shaft, the outermost fingers being longer than the innermost.

14. Ina washing machine including a washing chamber, a washer shaft, a doll connected for operation by said shaft, andY having a plurality of depending fingers of compressile and flexible material arranged in groups, the members of each group being spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the shaft, said fingers being slanted outwardly an'd downwardly.

15. In a washing machine including a washing chamber, a washer shaft, a dolly connected for operation by said shaft, and having a lurality of depending fingers of compressile and flexible material arranged in groups, the members of each group being spaced apart substantially radially with respect to the shaft, and the horizontal radial dimension of each fingerbeing greater than the distance between the fingers.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of September, 1928.

HERMAN C. HIRSCI-IY. 

